Each year in the United States, thousands of preventable injuries and deaths result from nursing home injuries and neglect. Abuse or negligence in assisted care facilities such as Diversicare can take many forms, but the outcomes are typically the same: patients have delayed diagnoses, suffer from bedsores, infections, and are at high risk for fall-related injuries.
Nursing home patients may suffer from overmedicating, malnutrition, dehydration, weight loss, and often fracture frail bones from slip and fall accidents. Some estimates note that nursing home residents fall at twice the rate of other elderly populations.
Many patients are prone to injury and illness, and health care facilities like Diversicare have a responsibility to assist residents and do everything possible to prevent serious falls, infections and premature deaths. Nursing homes may be liable for improper care and claims may be filed if patient neglect can be documented and proven.
Joe Lyon is a highly-rated personal injury attorney with experience in injuries and deaths due to nursing home neglect. Mr. Lyon has represented plaintiffs nationwide in a wide variety of medical negligence, wrongful death and injury claims.
Understaffed Nursing Homes
As the baby boomer generation ages, many families find themselves placing loved ones in the hands of nursing home staff and physicians. The nursing homes are pitched with flashy marketing materials and carry names that are meant to inspire a sense of comfort.
Yet, contrary to the representations and promises of providing a safe and healthy environment, many facilities have been investigated for falling below the appropriate medical standard of care, and for providing environments that are unclean and unfit for dignified end-of-life care.
In many cases, poor care is due to understaffing. Understaffing places more profits in the hands of the owners of the nursing home but sacrifices the quality of patient care, as there are fewer nurses and staff to provide timely and comprehensive care.
In addition, many elderly nursing home residents have limitations communicating, and the neglect and abuse may continue for long periods of time without detection.
Too often families only learn after a physical injury appears that their loved has been suffering due to poor health care and promises of quality care have been broken. Such neglect, and at times financial fraud, can leave the patient in failing health and the family feeling guilty for the placement and lack of oversight.
An experienced nursing home injury lawyer can offer the patient and family the opportunity to gain more information, answer questions, and provide adequate compensation to the patient and family that the nursing home has been unwilling to provide outside of the court system.
